- Hellenic Post received €250 million in 2020 to fix itself.
- Five years later, it is downsizing again to survive.
- 2,900 staff and 1,500 contractors affected — but your parcel from last year still hasn’t arrived.
Once upon a time, the postman rang twice.
Now, he just texts: “Branch closed, good luck.”
After a decade of decline and a €250 million rescue plan, Hellenic Post (ELTA) has found a new way to innovate — by becoming smaller. It is not bankruptcy; it is “strategic minimalism.”
The plan is simple: fewer branches, fewer people, same queues.
How to Spend 250 Million and Still Lose Mail
Back in 2020, the Greek state handed ELTA a quarter of a billion euros to modernize. The result? A fresh logo, a few new chairs, and the same man behind the counter asking, “You got a pen?”
The numbers did not add up — unless you count frustration as a metric. Five years later, the “restructuring” continues. It is the kind of resilience usually seen in cats and bad ideas.
The Great Postal Migration
The new survival plan involves shutting down branches across Greece and transferring permanent employees to those still open. In theory, this keeps everyone working. In practice, it just means a lot more people in fewer buildings, explaining why your parcel is “still in Athens.”
As for the 1,500 external partners — they will remain external. Very external.
The Future Is Digital, Eventually
ELTA insists the future is digital — though their website sometimes loads slower than a donkey uphill. Still, optimism reigns. After all, it takes courage to deliver mail in a world that forgot how to write letters.
So yes, the postman still exists — he just covers three prefectures now, on a moped with a USB charger.
What’s Next?
Maybe drones. Maybe teleportation. Maybe just another press release.
Until then, one truth remains: in Greece, the mail always gets through.
Eventually.
Maybe.
